Hunterdon County Sourland Mountain Preserve
Managed by Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation
371 acres2.6 mi of trail
OrangeWhiteBlueYellow
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in East Amwell Township
42% of East Amwell Township’s land is conserved: 7,643 acres
2,181 acres are parks and preserves, 554 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Hunterdon County Sourland Mountain Preserve (2.6 mi), Omick Woods at the Rocktown Preserve (1.4 mi), Laport Preserve (0.7 mi). 22 miles of mapped trail cross East Amwell Township, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #159 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
42%
7,643 acres · of 28.5 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,181 ac
554 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.8 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is East Amwell Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does East Amwell Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Amwell Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #159 of 468 in New Jersey. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Amwell Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land42% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land554 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,181 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home60% of residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 66%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so East Amwell Township’s 42% is ahead of 94% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Hunterdon County Sourland Mountain Preserve, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Omick Woods at the Rocktown Preserve
Nature preserve
88 acres1.4 mi of trail
Orange trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Omick Woods at Rocktown Preserve
Laport Preserve
Managed by Hunterdon County
47 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Highfields Preserve
Nature preserve
196 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Hunterdon County Sourland Mountain Preserve371 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsOmick Woods at the Rocktown Preserve88 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLaport Preserve47 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Hunterdon County
DirectionsHighfields Preserve196 acres
South County Park Fairgrounds89 acres · Hunterdon County
DirectionsMarion F. Clawson Memorial Park23 acres
DirectionsSourland Mountain Preserve6 acres · Somerset County Park Commission
Who protects it
7,643 conserved acres
42% of East Amwell Township’s land. Who manages East Amwell Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County4,607 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government3,448 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,585 ac
Other state land1,330 ac
Town or city1,113 ac
State natural resources300 ac
State conservation220 ac
Agricultural Easement · 10,119 acPrivate Conservation · 761 acLocal Conservation Area · 549 acState Park · 405 acOther Easement · 295 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5,513 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 80 of 277 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourland Mountain Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 427 | Open |
| Washington Crossing State Park State Park | State natural resources | 405 | Open |
| Northern Stony Brook Greenway Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 232 | Open |
| Highfields Preserve State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 216 | Open |
| Eastern Sourland Woods Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 117 | Open |
| New Jersey Conservation Foundation Unknown Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 109 | Open |
| South County Park Local Recreation Area | County | 89 | Open |
| Cider Mill Grassland Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 88 | Open |
| Sourland Mountain Greenway Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 88 | Open |
| Northern Stony Brook Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 84 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in East Amwell Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in East Amwell Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
19 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.8 miHorses · 5.9 miUnpaved · 12.3 mi
Red Trail2.8 mi
White Trail2.2 mi
Blue Trail1.7 mi
Orange trail1.4 mi
Rocky Brook Trail (blue)1.2 mi
Orange1.1 mi
Green Trail0.8 mi
Blue0.7 mi
White0.7 mi
Yellow Trail0.4 mi
9 more trails
Yellow
0.4 miOrange / Green Trail
0.3 miOrange Trail
0.3 miWhite Trail / Red Trail
0.2 miYellow / Green Trail
0.2 miGreen connector
0.2 migreen connector
0.2 mired
0.1 miBlue Trail / Red Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
11Equestrian
7Baseball
2Tennis
2Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
HighfieldsBuilding · listed 1994
About itNew Market-Linvale-Snydertown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1998
About itRingoes Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1999
About itWertsville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itDawlis Mill-Spring Mill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2004
About itBowne Station Road stone-arch bridge over tributary of the Alexauken CreekStructure · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in East Amwell Township: April to June and August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in East Amwell Township →
Next door
East Amwell Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hopewell Township96 miHillsborough Township45 miEast Amwell Township22 miWest Amwell Township15 miDelaware Township10 miRaritan Township8.9 miRingoes0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Amwell Township | 42% | 0.8 | 554 | 60% | A |
| West Amwell Township | 40% | 0.7 | 699 | 91% | A+ |
| Raritan Township | 15% | 0.2 | 105 | 64% | A− |
| Delaware Township | 34% | 0.3 | 445 | 68% | A |
| Hopewell Township | 35% | 1.7 | 461 | 79% | A+ |
| Ringoes | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Hillsborough Township | 32% | 0.8 | 182 | 98% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in East Amwell Township
Where can I hike in East Amwell Township?
The longest trail networks: Hunterdon County Sourland Mountain Preserve, 2.6 miles; Omick Woods at the Rocktown Preserve, 1.4 miles; Laport Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of East Amwell Township is conserved land?
42% of its land, against a typical 11% for a New Jersey town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on East Amwell Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Hunterdon County Sourland Mountain Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in East Amwell Township?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.8 of painted or protected lanes and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near East Amwell Township?
52,676 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Amwell Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,181 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does East Amwell Township have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #159 of 468 in New Jersey. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from East Amwell Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →